At least 11 people – including a three-year-old child – have been killed in a mass shooting at a hostel in South Africa.
Fourteen others were wounded when gunmen stormed the venue in Saulsville township, west of the capital Pretoria, early on Saturday.
At least three unknown gunmen began firing "randomly" at a group of people who were drinking, police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said.
The motive of the shooting is unknown and no arrests have been made. It is the latest in a string of mass shootings that have rocked the crime-ridden country in recent years.
The gunmen reportedly entered the premise at 04:30 local time (02:30 GMT) and opened fire on a group of men who were drinking. A 12-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were among those killed in the attack.
"I can confirm that a total of 25 people were shot," Mathe said.
Describing the hostel as an "illegal shebeen", she added: "We are having a serious challenge when it comes to these illegal and unlicensed liquor premises," where she said the majority of mass shootings occur.
"Innocent people also get caught up in the crossfire," she told public broadcaster SABC.
In a major crackdown, police shut down 12,000 such premises outlets between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people across the country.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, at 45 people per 100,000 according to 2023-24 figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Some 63 people were killed every day between April and September, according to police data.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Heart disease risk greater for women with a common condition they may not be aware they have - 2Cygnus XL brings cargo to the ISS for 1st time | Space photo of the day for Dec. 1, 2025
- 3Vote in favor of Your Number one Cake Type
- 4Wegmans recalls mixed nuts over salmonella contamination fears
- 5Tens of thousands protest as far-right AfD forms new youth group
- Instructions to Utilize Your Brain science Certification to Work on Corporate Culture
- How does Spotify Wrapped calculate your listening age? What your number says about you.
- Vote In favor of Your Favored Kind Of Cheddar
- IDF carried out mission to locate former hostage Avera Mengistu a day before Oct. 7
- Why boosting production of Venezuela's 'very dense, very sloppy' oil could harm the environment
- Venice’s newest marvel is a wild, acrobatic dolphin. His refusal to leave puts him in danger
- Joshua Made Last-Second Seat Change That Saved His Life
- Trump administration launches new immigration crackdowns in New Orleans and Minneapolis. Here are all the cities it has targeted so far.
- Step by step instructions to Involve Compact disc Rates for Magnanimous Giving
